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| Name |
Colwell, Rita R. |
| Location
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University of Maryland, College Park |
| Primary Field
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Environmental Sciences and Ecology |
| Secondary Field
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Evolutionary Biology |
 Election Citation
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Colwell and her colleagues traced the source of the causative agent, Vibrio cholerae, to riverine and estuarine plankton, with which the bacterium is commensal. Colwell's team proved that the epidemic strain and nonepidemic strain are the same species. They also linked cholera epidemiology with sea temperatures and plankton blooms, tying together global climate and disease. |
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Research Interests
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Marine biotechnology and molecular microbial ecology and systematics; marine and estuarine microbial ecology; survival of pathogens in the aquatic environment; ecology of Vibrio cholerae and related microorganisms; microbial genomics and phylogeny; bioremediation; release of genetically engineered microorganisms to the environment. |
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